Maternal Mortality – How You Can Protect Yourself
Let’s start with the good news: Infant mortality has reached an all-time low. While this is cause for celebration, a recent analysis by the CDC found that mothers in the United States have a higher rate of dying after giving birth than many other developed countries....
Before Pregnancy: 11 Important Ways to Prepare
What can you do to be ready for your little one? Take care of you! Before you even begin trying to conceive, you can take important steps to prepare your body and your life for a new baby. Planning for Pregnancy 1. Eat Right: Months before you begin eating for two,...
Uterine Fibroids – What Do I Need to Know?
Fibroids are extremely common and affect more than 60% of women. However, even though it sounds a bit frightening that so many women have tumors in their uterus, fibroids rarely turn into cancer and having them doesn’t mean you’re more likely to get uterine cancer....
Curious About How a Hospital-Based Midwife Works?
If you are curious about how a hospital-based midwife works, we recommend that you read a great article from the American College of Nurse-Midwives about how certified nurse-midwives care for patients. Following is an excerpt from the article: "When three midwives...
10 Tips on What to Expect Before Your First Mammogram
Mammograms are able to detect early signs of breast cancers, catching the cancer when it’s more treatable. Many doctors recommend that women begin mammograms at age 40 and have a mammogram every single year. According to the American College of Radiology, there’s a...
What is an Ectopic Pregnancy?
An ectopic pregnancy occurs outside the womb, often in one of the fallopian tubes. To become pregnant, the ovaries release an egg into the fallopian tube on the fourteenth day of a woman’s menstrual cycle. If sperm fertilizes the egg, the egg travels from the...
What’s Hurting Your Sex Drive?
There’s no specific number of times you should be having sex. Yet if you feel like you're not enjoying sex, or you have noticed a decrease in how often you have sex, there may be underlying causes for a low libido. While you won't know for certain what the true issue...
Strength Training for Women
Most women are aware they need regular exercise to strengthen their heart and lungs and tone their bodies. Yet some women resist training for strength because of some common myths. Let’s debunk some of these common falsehoods about strength training. Myth: I don’t...
Skin Care Can Protect You From Pollution
The World Health Organization calls air pollution a "public health emergency." Outdoor air pollution is the cause of 3 million deaths a year. Indoor air pollution caused 6 million deaths in 2016. Air Pollution Can Damage Skin Even if you’re not living in a heavily...
Night Sweats
When you wake up soaking wet after a night of restless sleep, it’s normal to feel confused and even worried. Night sweats are uncomfortable, to say the least. However, you’re not the only one struggling to understand what’s going on with your body. Over 40% of women...
Sorting Facts from Myths about Epilepsy
“I’d been having seizures since I was in grade school and just never knew what they were,” Kevin says. “Before then everyone just thought I was daydreaming or not paying attention. I used to get notes home from the teachers saying, 'Kevin daydreams too much' or 'Kevin...
Domestic Abuse and Women’s Health
Domestic violence is sometimes called intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence affects millions of women each year in the U.S. It includes physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, as well as sexual coercion and stalking by a current or former intimate...
Who is at Risk for Deep Vein Thrombosis?
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a vein is blocked by a blood clot, usually inside a leg. Every year about 500,000 Americans experience DVT; DVT causes death in up to 20% of those cases. While the blood clot can dissolve on its own, the danger comes when part...
Show Love to Yourself (10 Tips under $10)
For this Valentine’s Day, give yourself the gift of self-care. Being good to yourself doesn’t need to break the bank. We've got 10 sweet ideas for inexpensive (many of the ideas are cost-free) and healthy ways to indulge. Explore your Neighborhood Getting outside in...
Know your Migraine Triggers
If you’re a migraine sufferer, you’ll recognize the symptoms. A migraine is a throbbing and painful headache; the pain usually stays on one side of the head. Migraines are often "triggered" by specific situations. Migraine symptoms can be debilitating. The pain can be...
Lack of Vitamin D May Harm Older Women’s Health
Vitamin D deficiency is alarmingly common among women in nursing homes and is associated with an increased risk of death. A study of nearly 1,000 female nursing home residents found that 284 (30%) of the patients died within an average of 27 months. The researchers...
Can Getting Care for Eyes and Mouth Lengthen a Woman’s Life?
Your oral and eye health could be a strong indicator of your overall health. A study of data from the Women’s Health Initiative program, which included 57,000 women, showed that for older women, loss of their natural teeth is associated with a 17% higher risk of...
More than Baby Blues: A Closer Look at Postpartum Depression
Giving birth can trigger a range of emotion from fear and worry to excitement and joy. And thanks to all the hormones coursing through their blood stream, new moms can go from sadness to elation in just a few moments. Most mothers experience sadness called the “baby...
Tips to Stop a Cold Before It Starts
Do you have a tickle in your throat? Starting to feel achy? Take care of these cold symptoms early and you could feel better by the next day. Here’s what to do for the next 24 hours.
America’s Obesity Levels at Highest Rate
Over 70% of Americans are either overweight or obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more. In other words, unhealthy weight has become the new normal; people with a healthy weight – a BMI of 25 or less – are now in the minority.